subject: How Real Sports Fans Watch the Big Game [print this page] If you are a serious sports fan, then you probably already have your satellite TV package of channels set up so that you get every sports channel imaginable. From the comfort of your living room, your basement, your den, your bedroom, or wherever it is that you have decided to mount your precious new flat screen television, you can watch all of your favorite channels and programs. You can watch a major tennis match between the established Spaniard Raphael Nadal and the rising Scottish star Andy Murray. Or you can watch pre-March Madness analysis of all of the important college teams on your favorite talk show so that you can make sure to place all of the right bets in your local pool. Or you can watch a classic Superbowl match on ESPN Classic, to relive the glory that you witnessed decades ago, or to finally see for yourself a match-up that all of the old timers constantly reference.
But when it comes down to watching the big game in real time one cannot simply turn on the television, notice that it's on, and then kick back and watch it. This is something that needs to be prepared for. So this list here is a comprehensive guide of how to get ready for an important sporting event.
1. Make sure that it will broadcast in your home.
Every American with a television set will be able to watch the Superbowl, or the World Series, or the final series of the NBA Championships in the comfort of their own homes. But when you are trying to watch something a bit more obscure say an early playoff game that does not involve a local team, a college sport, or a more international event like a soccer match you want to check out your satellite TV package and make sure that you are getting the right channels.
2. Tell everyone in your house, and establish rules.
Telling your family and/or roommates is important, because you want to make sure that they know the time and date so that they do not invite 5 non-sports fans over for a Law & Order: Special Victims Unit marathon on satellite TV in the middle of the Stanley Cup. Making it seem like you are requesting TV time also makes you seem less like a jerk.
3. Buy provisions.
This generally means food and beer. You want to make sure that you stock up on enough food to get you through the game, and so that you have enough left over to either celebrate with, or help you to ease the pain by drowning your sorrows. Try not to go for the horribly processed stuff you'll end up feeling it eventually, and nothing ruins an important game like bloating or gas. So if you are going to pig out, try and at least add a vegetable tray somewhere in there. Just make sure that you do not get tempted to throw any of the food at your high definition television when the ref makes a bad call.
